Now, UPI To Be Linked With UAE’s Instant Payments Platform AANI

Giving a further fillip to the global ambitions of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the digital payments system will now be linked with the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) instant payments platform AANI. 

An agreement to this effect was signed between the two countries during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the UAE on Tuesday (February 13).

This linking will facilitate seamless cross border transactions between the two countries.

PM Modi also launched RuPay card services during his trip to the UAE. A number of agreements were signed between the two countries during the meeting between PM Modi and UAE President Mohammed Bin Zayed.

The countries signed an agreement to inter-link domestic debit/credit cards – RuPay from India and JAYWAN from the UAE – to enhance the universal acceptance of RuPay across the Middle Eastern country. 

In fact, JAYWAN has been built leveraging the digital RuPay credit and debit card stack.

PM Modi said that the linking of RuPay and JAYWAN cards will unleash a new era in the fintech sector.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed for cooperation in digital infrastructure projects. “This will create a framework for a wide ranging cooperation, including investment cooperation, in the digital infrastructure sector and also facilitate sharing of technical knowledge, skills and expertise,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The developments came a day after UPI services were launched in Sri Lanka and Mauritius on Monday (February 12), a week after its rollout in France. RuPay card services were also launched in Mauritius this week.

The extension of UPI services in these countries will facilitate easier and faster digital transactions for Indian nationals travelling to the respective countries.

The Indian government has been working to take UPI global. As part of this, the services have been extended to countries like Nepal, Canada, Singapore, and Bhutan.

Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that the UAE is home to a large Indian expatriate community. The number of resident Indian nationals in the UAE is estimated to be at about 3.5 Mn. 

As such, the linkage of the digital payment systems is expected to help these expats easily transfer money to their family and friends back home.

Last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of the UAE signed an agreement to link UPI with its UAE counterpart Instant Payment Platform (IPP).